Strasbourg, 11 December 2019 CommDH(2019)27 English only COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE DUNJA MIJATOVIĆ REPORT FOLLOWING HER VISIT TO AZERBAIJAN FROM 8 TO 12 JULY 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 7 1 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ...................................................................................................... 8 1.1 The arbitrary application of criminal legislation to restrict freedom of expression ................ 8 1.1.1 Arrests and detention ............................................................................................................ 8 1.1.2 Restrictions on the right to leave the country ..................................................................... 10 1.1.3 Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................................... 11 1.2 Defamation........................................................................................................................12 1.2.1 Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................................... 13 1.3 Internet restrictions ...........................................................................................................13 1.3.1 Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................................... 14 2 SITUATION OF LAWYERS ........................................................................................................15 2.1 The profession of lawyer ....................................................................................................15 2.1.1 Role of the Bar Association .................................................................................................. 15 2.1.2 Recent changes affecting the profession ............................................................................. 16 2.1.3 Qualification examination .................................................................................................... 16 2.1.4 Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................................... 17 2.2 Right to legal assistance .....................................................................................................17 2.2.1 Access to a lawyer ................................................................................................................ 18 2.2.2 Free legal aid ........................................................................................................................ 19 2.2.3 Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................................... 19 2.3 Disciplinary proceedings against lawyers ............................................................................20 2.3.1 Overview .............................................................................................................................. 20 2.3.2 Interferences with the freedom of expression of lawyers .................................................. 21 2.3.3 Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................................... 22 3 HUMAN RIGHTS OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS ...........................................................24 3.1 General overview of internal displacement .........................................................................24 3.1.1 Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................................... 25 3.2 Living conditions ................................................................................................................25 3.2.1 Housing ................................................................................................................................ 26 3.2.2 Livelihood opportunities ...................................................................................................... 27 3.2.3 Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................................... 28 3.3 Participation in public and political life ...............................................................................28 3.3.1 Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................................... 29 SUMMARY Commissioner Dunja Mijatović and her team visited Azerbaijan from 8 to 12 July 2019. During the visit, the Commissioner held discussions with the Azerbaijani authorities, the Ombudsman, representatives of civil society and lawyers. This report focuses on several issues raised during the visit: the right to freedom of expression; recent developments concerning the situation of lawyers; and the human rights of internally displaced persons. Freedom of expression The Commissioner notes with regret that no progress has been made with regard to protecting freedom of expression in Azerbaijan. She observes that journalists and social media activists, who had expressed dissent or criticism of the authorities, are continuously detained or imprisoned in Azerbaijan on a variety of charges, such as disobeying the police, hooliganism, extortion, tax evasion, incitement to ethnic and religious hatred or treason, as well as drug possession or illegal possession of weapons. During her visit, the Commissioner went to prisons where she met with the journalists Seymur Hazi and Afgan Mukhtarli, whose cases are representative of a widespread pattern raising fundamental human rights concerns. In a number of judgments concerning Azerbaijan, the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter: the Court) found violations of Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights (limitation on use of restrictions on rights) taken in conjunction with Article 5 (right to liberty and security), because the applicants had been detained for purposes other than having committed an offence. The Commissioner also points out that several of the Court’s judgments relating to the arbitrary application of criminal legislation to restrict freedom of expression have not been fully executed to date. She once again calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to release all those detained because of the views they expressed. The Commissioner observes that dozens of journalists, lawyers, political activists and human rights defenders are banned from leaving the country, in circumstances which give rise to justifiable doubts about the lawfulness of such travel bans. She calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to refrain from imposing arbitrary or disproportionate travel bans and lift immediately those which are in contradiction with the right to leave the country. The Commissioner notes that provisions on defamation remain in the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, and were even extended to include online expressions. She reiterates the long-standing demand for decriminalisation of defamation in Azerbaijan. The Commissioner observes that new amendments were introduced in March 2017 in the law “on information, informatisation, and protection of information”, allowing the authorities to block access to a website if it contains “prohibited information posing a danger to the state or society.” Shortly after the adoption of these amendments, a district court in Baku ordered the blocking of a number of websites. Blocking websites is an extreme measure which may hamper the right to access information. The Commissioner therefore calls on the authorities to bring the legislation and practice affecting Internet freedom in line with European standards. Situation of lawyers The Commissioner observes that Azerbaijan suffers from an acute shortage of lawyers, in particular in the regions outside the capital. The recent reform of November 2017, which excluded lawyers from civil and administrative proceedings before courts unless they are members of the Azerbaijani Bar Association, left many people without access to legal assistance and representation. The Commissioner notes that a number of steps have been taken by the authorities and the Bar Association to increase the number of lawyers in the country. She calls on the government to step up its efforts to address effectively the shortage of lawyers in the country. While the Commissioner welcomes the more frequent organisation of qualification examinations by the Bar Association, she underlines that the qualification process for a lawyer’s admission to the Bar, as it stands, suffers from a number of weaknesses. The oral part of the examination in particular should be removed or reformed, to ensure fair and objective evaluation. In addition, there is a clear need to strengthen the independence of the Bar Association and its role in the representation and defence of the interest of its members. The Commissioner is also concerned about the quality of the legal assistance provided, which can be of a formalistic nature, and by the fact that access to a lawyer can be delayed. The authorities should immediately take measures to ensure that the right of access to a lawyer is effectively guaranteed to all persons as from the 4 very outset of their deprivation of liberty. In Azerbaijan, State-funded legal aid is only provided in cases where representation by a lawyer is mandatory; there